ABET and Automotive Engineering Presented at the SAE Workforce Development Workshop Macomb Community College T. Kenney February 12, 2013

Current Practice Degreed engineers employed by the automotive industry are generally graduates of accredited programs in traditional engineering fields (i.e., Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, Manufacturing, etc). In the next 10 years, the domestic mobility industry will be tasked to engineer, manufacture, market and maintain increasing numbers of integrated vehicles with electrified powertrains and complex control systems. The ability of recent graduates from existing engineering disciplines to meet this new and growing need is unclear. Recently, several universities have begun programs in Automotive (graduate program at Clemson University) and Motorsports Engineering (undergraduate program at Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis). 2 SAE Workforce Development Workshop, February 12, 2013

Automotive Engineering The SAE ABET Relations Committee is organizing a 2013 Congress session where speakers from industry and academia will describe their assessment and response to the need for Automotive Engineering. The presentations will be followed by a moderated panel discussion and Q&A. The goals of the session are to 1)Determine the “pull” from industry for an Automotive Engineering degree 2)Dimension the interest within universities, domestically and internationally, in developing programs to meet that need. The session and its outcomes will be reported in a paper that will be presented to ASME, SAE and ABET education committees. 3 SAE Workforce Development Workshop, February 12, 2013

Key Questions To Industry Are your engineering needs being met now? Do you anticipate that your future (i.e., 10 years from now) needs will be met from current staff and new hires? Is there a need for Automotive Engineering graduates educated in complex vehicle systems (e.g., active suspensions, intelligent vehicle systems), electrified powertrains and systems engineering? Should an Automotive Engineering degree be at the undergraduate or graduate level? How many Automotive Engineers do you project that your company and industry will need in the near future (10 years)? How will your company work with educational institutions to create and support Automotive Engineering programs? 4 SAE Workforce Development Workshop, February 12, 2013

Key Questions To Academic Institutions Has you considered establishing an Automotive Engineering program? Why? How would you decide if such a program should be created? Where would the program fit (funding, leadership, administered)? Would it be a unique department? Would the program be undergraduate or graduate? Why? What would be the key elements of the program (e.g., unique course offerings, internships, capstone design experience)? Will your Electrical engineering course offerings have to be refocused to meet the needs of Automotive Engineering? What level of industry support for the program will be needed (e.g., advisory boards, cash, hardware, personnel)? What would be essential for the program’s success? 5 SAE Workforce Development Workshop, February 12, 2013